Over the past six years, the Royal Bahraini Air Force has been on quite a spending spree – 16 Lockheed Martin Block 70 F-16C/Ds, 12 Bell AH-1Z Zulu Cobras, three Bell 505 training helicopters, two ex-RAF Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules as well as the Raytheon Patriot system.

Major general Shaikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Khalifah told Arabian Aerospace: “All these purchases need to be paid for so that might be it for a while!”

The commander also said that the nine Block 70 F-16s, including three two-seaters delivered by the time of the show, were being used to train personnel, and they were not yet operational, but that should happen in the near future.

It was disappointing that there was no Block 70 on display, and that they were not even included in the RBAF formation fly-by of three F-16s, three F-5s and three Hawks.

At the last Bahrain International Air Show in 2022, the AH-1Zs had also just been delivered, and while there wasn’t one in the RBAF static display, an official symbolic handover of the helicopter in the US area of the static display took place.

Obviously the RBAF wasn’t ready for that yet, as the RBAF Commander said: “The project is not completed yet, and we still need more equipment. Our older but capable Block 40s have been fitted with very advanced equipment [in an upgrade], are still operational and we get a lot out of them. Once we have finished with the introduction of the Block 70s, we might alter the role of the Block 40s.”

Whether that role will mean an upgrade is unlikely, the near billion dollar cost probably forbids that a time when there are other more important issues, like defending itself from Iran and its militias.

The new Block 70s house the Northrop Grumman APG-83 scaleable agile beam radar (SABR) active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar; a new modular mission computer (MMC) and a large centre pedestal display with improved programmable displays amongst other things.

There also provisions for use of highly-capable US weapons, like the Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder AAMs; Raytheon AIM-120C advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs); Raytheon AGM-154 joint stand-off weapons (JSOWs); Boeing AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Raytheon AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs).

It is unclear what weapons are involved in the deal, but the above were included in the 2017 US Defense Security Co-operation Agreement notification to US Congress. The Block 70s will undoubtedly be a valuable asset.

The RBAF static display included two variants of Cobra this year, one was an AH-1FB Cobra upgraded by Turkish Aerospace Industries during 2018-20 which went largely unnoticed by many.

It came at a time when relations between Turkey and Bahrain along with Saudi Arabia and UAE, were not in a good place because of the different sides they took in the Libyan civil war. As a result, neither the RBAF or TAI were willing to discuss the project.

Turkish Aerospace upgraded 18 AH-1Fs agreed in June 2015, that draws upon avionics systems already operational on Turkey’s T129 advanced attack and reconnaissance (ATAK) helicopter.

The work includes integration of the AselFLIR 300T electro-optical, reconnaissance and targeting turret into the attack helicopter’s nose, which was covered up during the static display.

The deal also included an enhanced weapons package that is believed to include the 7.62mm CIRIT missiles and UMTAS long range anti-tank guided missile. Parked alongside the new AH-1Z, which only had 27 hours on the airframe, you could certainly see the generational difference with the shape of the 1960s era AH-1FB.

Another new helicopter in the static display was the five-seater Bell 505 training helicopter, one of the three that was delivered in March 2023. The RBAF Commander said that there were plans for more, but no contract had been signed.

They are being used to train new pilots for the RBAF’s large fleet of helicopters, that includes around 30 AH-1s, nine UH-60Ms and a small number of AB212s.

When the Middle East’s fragile peace is broken, which sadly is a regular occurrence, the US government is always there to provide support and reassurance to its allies.

It’s no secret that most countries in the region fear Iran and its many militias, like the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Just as they do the more well-known extreme Islamic groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE has regularly come under attack, while Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar are just as susceptible. Egypt, another major US ally, continues its fight against radical elements in the Sinai.

Working with foreign militaries and governments is important to the US, which is a major responsibility of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The man currently tasked with leading this herculean effort for U.S. Central Command’s air component is Lieutenant General Derek France, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT), who splits his time between Qatar and the USA. 

The author caught up with the AFCENT Commander at the Egyptian International Air Show (EIAS) in mid-September and asked him to sum up the USAF’s presence in the Middle East.

“The region is really tense right now, so one of the things we do at AFCENT/CENTCOM is send forces out here to help fulfil our long-term goal to stabilise the region – we get a return in value, provides assurance to partners, and long-term stability.”

Maintaining regional partnerships is key to the US, as Lt. Gen. France explained: “The US is never going to do anything on its own, because we are spread all over the world. To have all our resources in one theatre is just not realistic.

“Our key to success is to have partnerships like we do with the Egyptians – working on technical interoperability like using the same radios, datalinks, etc.

“What I try to stress is to have cultural connections and face-to-face connections so we can get our allies through military training in the US, and development programmes.” He added, “You can be technically-linked all you want, but if you are not humanly-linked it’s a real challenge.”

He provided an example of how AFCENT works in Egypt. “The Egyptian Air Force is a very capable air force and they really strive to partner with us. It’s important we build multilateral relationships that we can’t get from an email or a telephone call. Instead meet each other face-to-face to have some meaningful dialogue.  

“Egypt is one of my focusses and we recently held our joint biennial Egyptian-led Bright Star exercise, which is the flagship of the work we do together. We have touchpoints with them in multilateral exercises through the Air Warfare Centre [at Al Dhafra] in UAE.”

The USAF don’t generally send their most sophisticated fighters to air shows, like EIAS or the more recent Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS) in November. “Let’s say we send ‘the seasoned combat jets’ like the Boeing F-15E, Lockheed Martin F-16C and Northrop Grumman A-10Cs. They may not be as flashy as others, but they get the job done.”

The USAF even sent an iconic Boeing B-52H to BIAS, along with an A-10C tank-buster and F-16CM which definitely fit that ‘seasoned’ category because as the serial numbers of each aircraft showed, they have served the US collectively for around 140 years, giving the three aircraft an average age of nearly 50 years!

That’s not to say the USAF doesn’t send its cutting-edge fighters to the region, because in August, 12 Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptors were flown to an undisclosed location in the Middle East in a bid to keep the peace.

The B-52H’s appearance at Bahrain was a sensation, so much so that the crown prince of Bahrain, prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, deputy supreme commander of the armed forces and prime minister jumped in his golf buggy and drove up to the bomber, surrounded of course by his security personnel. He received an escorted tour from colonel Andy ‘Cuffs’ Ladd, AFCENT’s director of strategy and theatre security cooperation.

The colonel explained to the author why the eight-engined bomber was at BIAS. “Not only does the B-52’s presence here show that the US is engaged, postured, and ready; it also demonstrates a credible force to assure, deter, and defend in an increasingly complex and dynamic security environment.”

But it didn’t end there, because on the second day of the three-day event, two B-52Hs also opened the flying display, with not just one or two, but three formation flypasts. As colonel Ladd said, “This sends out a clear message to our potential adversaries, that while we have no desire for a war, if conflict cannot be avoided, the coalition has the most dominant fighting force on the planet.”  

The USAF had announced on November 3 that six B-52s had been deployed to the region from the 5^th bomb wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The first time B-52s had deployed to a base in the Middle East since 2019. It was also the first time a ‘Buff’ had made an appearance on-the-ground at a Middle East aerospace show. 

According to the USAF release “the B-52s were providing fresh air power designed to compensate for the upcoming departure of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. It also comes as senior Iranian officials have threatened to attack Israel following its retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian air defences and ballistic missile production sites on October 26.”

While the B-52s came from an undisclosed location in the Middle East, they could easily have come from anywhere in the world as Colonel Ladd stressed. “They can fly from anywhere to deliver global precision strike and return back to a safe location. This sends a very clear and unambiguous message to any aggressor that we are in a constant state of readiness to bolster the coalition’s defence ecosystem to assure peace and stability across the U.S. central command area of responsibility.”

One of the many hats that colonel Ladd wears includes integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) systems coordination in the region.

“This is the only way to stop an enemy capable of attacking from 360 degrees, by providing enhanced situational awareness to allow enough reaction time to stop the incoming threats (missiles, unmanned aerial systems) etc. from inside [the aggressors] territorial borders.

“You could have multiple, complex threats coming from all directions, not just ballistic missiles. These complex threats consist of a combination of land-attack cruise missiles, many different variants of weaponised unmanned aerial systems that are capable of flying great distances from multiple countries.

You need to provide adequate detection synchronised with capable and compatible weapon systems to destroy those threats. The US can assist in enhancing those efforts by offering its own capabilities.”

The very capable, highly-regarded long-range Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system is in service with seven countries in the Middle East – Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE with Bahrain joining them in early 2024 to become the 18th Patriot operator. 

The IAMD system doesn’t just protect the skies of one country in the Middle East, the six nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) are partnering together to complete a network that overlaps all the airspace.

“We have secure ways to share information because it’s important for every nation’s defence.”

Colonel Ladd explains and finishes: “We have made huge strides in establishing the collective framework to counter threats for the long-term peace and security of the region.”

Formed in November 2019 by the UAE government, this new defence conglomerate took over the bulk of UAE’s defence companies, aiming to become financially independent.

Bringing together these businesses, that in several cases were competing with each other, has allowed the Edge management to strengthen areas that could expand and succeed.

In February 2024, shortly after being appointed as the group’s managing director Hamad Al Marar said: “UAE military represents 90 per cent of Edge’s business with only 10 per cent coming from international markets. That is going to have to change and the ambition is to gain a 60/40 sales split, bringing with it a sizeable transformation in Edge’s fortunes.”

In an announcement in December 2024, the group declared it had secured more than 200 major contracts, with 25 per cent of these representing international agreements in 2023.

By September 2024, it noted, international contracts accounted for 42 per cent of its order intake.

Among its notable achievements, Edge secured a €1bn contract to supply corvette vessels to the Angolan Navy while strategic agreements with the UAE Armed Forces include US$1.62 billion for Desert Sting precision-guided munitions and US$582 million for the Thunder precision guided munitions (PGMs). By September 2024 Edge group-managed companies had achieved an order backlog amounting to US$12.8 billion.

His excellency Faisal Ai Bannai, Edge group chairman said in a statement last December: “In a constantly evolving and highly-competitive international defence landscape it was almost conceivable that a new disruptor from the UAE could, in just five years, rise so rapidly to become a global industry player punching well above its weight across multiple domains.”

 

Missiles and Weapons

Managing director Hamad Al Marar had previously spent four years in the group’s senior management team, most recently as president of the missiles and weapons cluster. That big responsibility now falls to Saif Al Dahbashi who stepped into his new role on the same day Al Marar became managing director.

On his new objectives, Al Dahbashi said: “Increasing export sales is a top priority to help fund the domestic requirement. We cannot evolve the requirements and advance the development of systems if you don’t have international sales. The government will only support you so much – you need to be sourcing real revenue.”

Al Dahbashi’s told the author at the Bahrain Airshow: “My primary role is to develop the company’s flagship programmes, and others that are currently in development. Ensuring they are on time, on cost and on quality. Some programmes in the development lifecycle are more mature than others – like the Desert Sting series.

The smaller 16kg Desert Sting 16 precision-guided munition is already in production, while the 25kg Desert Sting 25 is still under development, with the focus being on the implementation of some improvements in the software, and to improve the seeker’s accuracy. Our target is to integrate these and all our weapons on to as many platforms as possible.”

 

Platform integration

Today Edge has expanded its product portfolio from 30 in 2019 to an impressive 201 cutting-edge solutions across air, land, sea and cyber domains – a rapid growth of 550 per cent in just five years.

At IDEX (International Defence Exhibition) in February 2023 we saw the new public face of the new business. Edge showed off the new Hunter unmanned combat air vehicle, that could be integrated with many of its munitions, like the RASH series of low-cost mortar bombs and Desert Sting precision-guided munitions (PGMs).

There was the Air Truck, QX56-50 cargo UAV, but it was the big Juniah jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle model that caught much of the attention.

Precision Guided Munitions

Some of Edge’s PGM programmes are more mature than others, with the Al-Tariq bomb certainly in the latter category. The combat-tested and proven Al Tariq range of PGMs, is a flexible family of bomb kit systems, used on the Mk 81 (250lb), Mk 82 (500lb) and Mk 83 (1,000lb) bombs.

There are three different seeker head options – GNSS (global navigation satellite system)/SAL (semi-active laser), GNSS/IIR (imaging infra-red) and GNSS/INS (inertial navigation system).

Converting these unguided bombs into high-precision, longer-range focused munitions using an array of guidance and propulsion technologies enables Al Tariq to adapt to new priorities as missions evolve.

Five years ago they were upgraded with new Block 2 enhancements, that host improvements like an enhanced navigation system and are fully compliant with US military standard 1760 (MIL-STD-1760), French standard DIGIBUS, and also boast new height-of-burst-sensor (HOBS) capabilities.

The most recent version to evolve is the lower-cost Al Tariq – S (short range) with a stand-off range of 45km with flip-up fins.

As Al Dahbashi’s said: “The Al Tariq kit will always evolve, whether it is a evolution of its performance or an evolution of cost and speed.”

Another family of PGMs in Edge’s portfolio include the Thunder short-range guidance kits that can be integrated on the 250lb Mk 81 (P-31), 500lb Mk-82 (P-32) and 2,000lb Mk 84 (P-4) general purpose bombs utilising inertial guidance augmented by GNSS.

Al Dahbashi wants to provide effective guided munition solutions for platforms and systems all over the world, that’s his dream and as a result is integrating Halcon and Al Tariq weapons onto platforms like the Bayraktar TB2.

With the UAEAF&AD buying 80 Dassault Rafale multi-role fighters, it’s not surprising that the Al Tariq and Halcon weapons will be among its armoury. “As system integrators we have a group of Edge engineers working in France, with Dassault,” he said.

That could bring further Al Tariq sales to Egypt, which already using the weapon on its MiG-29s and Mirage 2000s.

 

Joint ventures

Edge has established a strong network of 23 joint ventures that are playing a central role in the group’s success. In May 2024, Edge launched a joint venture with Spain’s Indra Sistemas to develop and manufacture radar systems within the UAE and a hugely-significant strategic partnership has flourished with Brazil, marking Edge’s’ expansion in South America.

In September 2023, Edge announced the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Brazilian smart weapons and high-tech systems specialist, SIATT.

Al Dahbashi finished: “The main focus of this partnership is to continue development of the initial Mansup anti-ship missile. The target is to deliver Mansup to the Brazilian Navy in late 2025, and we will then use these early building blocks to continue our next-generation development – the extended range.

This collaboration was followed by a broader strategic partnership that positions Edge as a long-term partner to the Brazilian Navy, co-investing in advanced solutions, including UAE-developed anti-jamming technology. Most recently, Edge and the Brazilian Navy agreed to cooperate on anti-drone systems, fostering an even stronger relationship.

“We are providing a complete system for training the combat crews of tomorrow, and one of our focuses is Africa,” said general (ret) Thierry Caspar-Fille-Lambie, managing director Babcock France.

Babcock France is acquiring 11 L-39s from Apache Aviation, with aspirations to set up several training streams.

“Training young pilots to become fighter pilots; training fighter pilots to become instructor pilots or refresher courses for senior pilots who may have been away from flying for a while,” he said.

“The latter is the course we are focussing on in Africa where some air forces don’t currently fly fighters and we can refresh them or maintain their skills.

“We are also offering a tactical training syllabus that will include close air support (CAS) training and intend to update the L-39s with digital technology as well as ROVER-like capability.”

Working with ROVER sees information on targets downloaded from aircraft to the JTAC (Joint Terminal Air Controller) formerly known as a forward air controller.

The latter requirement has been included in the French Air Force Red Air contract tender, which Babcock France is bidding for. This will cover JTAC training, digital CAS and ROVER capabilities to train the JTAC. As a result, Babcock France will be able to offer this service to African or other foreign air forces. “Babcock France will adapt the syllabus to meet the customer’s requirements,” Fille-Lambie continued.

Not all the L-39s will be updated, Babcock France is currently designing a prototype upgrade with another company that is being kept confidential. “Implementation of the new systems and certification would take about a year,” he added.

“We could upgrade three or four L-39s initially, but the numbers depend upon us being selected for the FAF Red Air tender, which could be awarded in early 2025. But it is possible to use the L-39 in the old way of doing CAS, without the digital system until we have it, by talking to the JTAC through voice communications.

“We bought the L-39s because we know they are well maintained, and we can fly them until 2030/35 and in our aviation strategy it is a first step in the tactical training of air forces. We want to propose a global training solution for the training of their operational squadrons, which could feature not just the L-39, but also other modern training aircraft. We want to partner with OEMs on a future training aircraft that can work with simulation and emulation etc to ensure it is low-cost.”

Babcock has a lot of experience in educating future pilots, rather than training operational squadrons, which companies like Top Aces, Draken and ATAC does. But Babcock France wants to get a foothold in that business as Thierry is convinced it is no longer the business of air forces to develop a training solution.

“We want to discuss all the options with African countries, initially with air forces that currently fly the L-39, like Uganda, Nigeria and Angola as well as the western African countries in co-operation with the French government like Ivory Coast, Gabon and Senegal.

“Most of the instructors will come from the French Air Force, and we have pilots that we want to work with, but we can’t hire them until we get the first contract. Initially we will work with Apache Aviation pilots, who are very experienced.

Fille-Lambie finished: “We hope to have a first contract with an African air force in early 2025. The chief of that air force we won’t name, has agreed to send pilots and now he is in discussions with his MOD for the funding.”

Under the current government elected in May 2023, the NAF has acquired 12 advanced aircraft, that includes two King Air 360i (in November 2023/May 2024), four Diamond DA-62MPP by December 2023, four T-129 ATAKs (two in October 2024, two in November 2023) and two AW-109 Trekker helicopters (of ten believed to be on order).

Additionally, the CAS announced forthcoming deliveries of various ‘high-performance’ platforms, including the Leonardo M-346FA light attack jets (24), Airbus C-295 aircraft (two), and Bell AH-1Z attack helicopters (12). He also spoke of 12 second hand Alpha Jets coming from the French Air Force, six to be operationally restored and the other six for spare parts.

The Chief of Training and Operations, Air Vice Marshal FO Edosa, while awarding wings to 28 new NAF pilots and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators on December 4, said “14 new platforms had recently been delivered and 50 more are expected soon, raising the need for increased skilled aircrew. The pilots and UAV operators attended training courses,for fighter, helicopter, and UAVs in Nigeria, Egypt, and the United States.

Meanwhile Air Marshal Abubakar, visited Caverton Helicopters MRO facility in Lagos on December 13, to evaluate progress on the ongoing 2,500-hour and 5-year major inspections of two NAF Bell 412 helicopters (NAF 599 and NAF 600).

The visit highlighted the critical role of indigenous expertise in advancing NAF’s operational capabilities and fostering sustainable aviation solutions.

Earlier on November 12, representatives from Czech aerospace company Aero Vodochody visited the NAF HQ, when the CAS spoke of four decades of partnership with the company. He also affirmed his commitment to evaluate their proposals, that including reactivation, upgrades to existing L-39s, and potential acquisition of the L-39 Next Generation (NG).